Chapter 542


    Heather shot him a look, and he gave her the key. Nobody could stop her once she had decided on


    something. There was an imperial vibe about her that stopped anyone from giving her a refusal. Once


    she took the key, she waved the guard down. “Come back here for the key after an hour.”


    She didn’t get to swim right away though. Once the butler had settled ke down, he came to see


    Heather. Right after the guard’s departure, he came up to her slowly. “Old Master Langston requests


    you in his study, Miss Heather.”


    Heather stopped opening the door. Grandpa wants me to see him at this hour? That’s weird. She


    couldn’t just yell at the butler, so she asked somewhat annoyedly, “Why is he calling me?”


    “I am not very sure. But you’ll find out once you see him.”


    The butler looked serious, so she looked at the key she was holding before handing it to him. “Give this


    back to the guard, and don’t follow me. I can see him by myself.” Frustrated that her swim was


    disturbed again, Heather went to the study. ke was nowhere to be seen when she came back to the


    living room, so she thought someone must have taken him back to his room.


    The air still reeks of alcohol. She scrunched her nose up. The butler will handle itter. Then, she


    tiptoed to the bedroom, since everyone was asleep. Her elders were living on the second floor, so she


    couldn’t make any loud sounds.


    The study room was ajar, and she could see the lighting from inside. Heather opened the door and


    came face to face with Robert, who was in the center of the room. After that, she closed the door


    before going up to him.


    “Where were you going?” Robert was inscrutable, so she couldn’t guess what he was thinking. Did I


    make him mad?


    “Downstairs,” she answered honestly, since Robert seemed to know what she had done. Obviously, the


    butler told him everything.


    “The pool’s closed at this hour. Don’t you know the rules? This isn’t the time for a swim.” Robert was


    troubled by her rebellious tendencies at home.


    “I just felt like swimming. Can’t control the urge, you know. Why should the pool be restricted anyway?


    It should be open 24/7,” she retorted. Heather wasn’t one to acknowledge anything easily.


    Robert didn’t want to argue with her about the pool’s opening hours. He noticed that Heather had been


    acting very weirdly since morning, and she was more caustic toward Matthias than before. Something


    happened. “Tell me about your rtionship with Matthias.” They could talk openly, as they were alone


    in the study.


    She stared at him, dumbfounded. Why is he bringing Matthias up? There’s nothing to talk about. “What


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    do you want me to talk about? Be specific.” She didn’t want to answer it. If it weren’t for Caleb, she


    wouldn’t have gotten into this mess.


    “Answer me. You don’t want me to match you up with him, right?” He was sacrificing his sleep because


    he wanted to talk about something important with her, or it’d only be a waste of time.


    “Isn’t that obvious, Grandpa?” She thought it was obvious that she hated Matthias. Heather had never


    considered the possibility of marriage, but Robert wanted to marry her off to him. She would act it out if


    she could, but she would never really fall for him. Matthias wasn’t the kind of partner she wanted, and


    she knew that. Since he didn’t meet the criteria she set, it was impossible for them to date.


    “Matthias is your best choice for now, at leastpared to Caleb. Are you sure you don’t want to give


    him a chance?” Caleb was the reason Robert wanted Matthias to court Heather. He knew Matthias


    wasn’t Heather’s perfect partner, but there was no better option, at least for the time being.


    Heather wasn’t there to see the horrors caused by the Moriartys, so she didn’t understand how


    terrifying they were. The moment Calebid eyes on her, he had decided that she would be his prey.


    “And I have to sacrifice my happiness just because of the Moriartys?” Heather was hesitating. She


    didn’t understand the terror of the Moriarty Family, nor was she sure what they wanted to do to her.


    “Now that Caleb has chosen you, it’s time we face this matter head on. I don’t want you to fall to his


    hands. He’ll ruin you,” Robert said genuinely, because the Moriartys loved to ruin the things precious to


    him.


    “But if Caleb has set his eyes on me, he can still ruin me even if I date Matthias. Can he even help me


    out? If the Moriartys are that terrifying, can the Locke Family even win?” Heather had her own


    concerns. She wondered why she was ‘chosen’. Chosen for what?


    “At least you have a fighting chance, so why don’t you give it a shot?” As long as he could keep her


    away from the Moriartys’ jaws, Robert would give anything a chance, even if Heather had to do


    something outrageous.


    “If that is what you wish, Grandpa, then so be it.” Heather didn’t want to talk about it. Every time she


    brought the Moriartys up, her grandfather would show her a look of sheer terror. Giving in at times was


    fine for her. She would go down hard on most asions, but she would take a step back whenever


    someone she loved was involved. Only when she was before her grandfather would Heather be a


    negotiate.


    Robert heaved a sigh of relief after she agreed to it. He thought she would argue with him for hours, but


    to his surprise, she agreed easily. Still, he was d that she did so, since that showed that she


    understood his situation. “I can see that Matthias likes you, and he told me he’s courting you,” Robert


    said.


    Heather’s face fell, for she never thought Matthias would tell Robert about it. She stared downward, her


    face scarlet from anger and embarrassment. “Do you think he can be trusted, Grandpa?” Heather


    grumbled. She never thought Matthias was serious about it.


    Love was something sacred for Heather. Only when a couple was in love could a family be built, and


    only then could they bear a child out of love. Also, it was only then could a family be happy. Heather’s


    parents didn’t marry out of love, and she had had enough with the imbnce of the power dynamics.


    She wasn’t born out of love, so she wasn’t loved by her parents.


    Heather didn’t want her children to have the same fate as she did. She wanted to give her children a


    “A man knows how another man thinks, so I know he loves you.” Robert was only matching them up


    because he could see that Matthias loved Heather; he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t.


    “But he hated me. I ruined his first love. I ruined his pure, unadulterated rtionship, but now he has


    fallen for me? I-It’s insane!” Heather couldn’t stay calm anymore. She thought she had to tell Robert


    that no man could love someone who ruined their first love.


    Robert sighed, then he beckoned Heather toe closer. She obliged, and Robert patted her head.


    “That’s what happened between me and her,” he said cryptically.


    Heather was confused, so he exined, “The one I loved ruined my first love too, but I fell for her


    nheless. She’s my sweetheart. You might fall for someone, but that doesn’t mean you’ll end up


    together. I loved her my whole life, but I didn’t end up together with her.”


    That was the first time she heard Robert talking about his past. Wow, this is colorful. She blinked


    innocently and thought, Men sure are weird. “Men can be really forgiving, huh?” Heathermented.


    She had to do it, or it would be annoying.


    “No. Some men only realize loveter in life. Most think that their first love is true love, but true love


    see them, then you’d end up trying to vie for their attention,” he exined. Finally, Heather realized


    what he was talking about.


    That’s an experienced person for you. She couldn’t understand him earlier, but she was slowly getting


    it.


    “Men would date the vulnerable woman when they’re young. They love women who are submissive


    and innocent, but when they get older, they’d start branching out to the sexier women. They didn’t do it


    when they were younger because they didn’t know if they could, but once they get into the groove,


    they’ll branch out,” he kept exining.


    Oh, I get it. So that’s why. “Is that the case with Matthias too?” she asked. I would have told Grandpa


    about it if I knew he had this kind of past. Why’d I even dwell on this?


    “Yes, and it happens to most men. They’d fall for someone they never thought they would,” he said.


    Love was irrational that way, and that was why everyone was crazy for it.


    “Thank you, Grandpa. I know what I should do now.” Heather felt much better after listening to him, and


    the prospect of dating Matthias didn’t seem so bad then.


    “Be patient with him. He’s a gem in the rough, at least in the dating scene. He needs to be polished.


    Men are like children when ites to love, so women would have to guide them. Women are more


    mature than their male counterparts if they’re the same age, you know.” Robert didn’t think Heather


    was that much better than Matthias in romance. In fact, she was even more of a gem in the rough, but


    if he needed to get her into the groove, he had to praise her. That’s how you deal with women.